Plate-glass-sealing apparatus



(No Model.) 4 Sheets-Sheet 1. J. M. HOWARD. PLATE GLASS SEALINGAPPARATUS.

Patented Mar. 24,- 1891.

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WITNESSES:

(No Model.) 4 SheetsSheet 2. J. M. HOWARD.

PLATE GLASS SEALING APPARATUS. No. 449,043. Patented Mar. 24, 1891.

WITNESSES:

(No Model.) 4 Sheets-Shet 3. J. M. HOWARD.

PLATE GLASS SEALING APPARATUS. N0. 449,043. Patented Mar. 24, 1891.

(No Model.) 4 Sheets-Sheet 4. J. M. HOWARD. PLATE GLASS SEALINGAPPARATUS.

No. 449,043. Patented Mar. 24, 1891.

FIG- 5 FIG-6 NITEDF STATES PATENT JAMES M. HOWARD, OF MIFFLIN, ASSIGNOROF TWO-THIRDS TO ABNER U. HOWARD AND'HARTLEY HOWARD, BOTH OF PITTSBURG,PENNSYLVANIA.

PLATE-GLASS-SEALING APPARATUS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 449,043, dated March24, 1891. Application filed November 5, 1890- Serial No. 370,428. tN'omodel.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JAMES M. HOWARD, a I citizen of the United States,residing at Mifflin township, (DuquesneP. O.,) in the county ofAllegheny and State of Pennsylvania, have invented or discovered acertain new and useful Improvement in Plate-Glass-Sealing Apparatus, ofwhich improvement the following is a specification.

The object of my invent-ion is to effect a substantial economization oftime and labor and attain materially greater accuracy and exemption fromliability to breakage than has heretofore been practicable in thesealing I 5 of plate-glass-that is to say, the attachment of the same tothe slates or tables upon which it is supported during the operation ofpolishing.

To this end my invention, generally stated,

consists in the combination of a sealing bed or table, a slate orpolishing table, a hoist for swinging said tables vertically into andout of positions in which they are connected and detached, respectively,and fiuid-pressure-ad- 2 5 justing mechanism for maintaining the normalrelation of the adjacent faces of the table in being brought togetherand separated, respectively.

The improvement claimed is hereinafter set forth.

In the sealing of plate-glass as ordinarily heretofore practiced, theplate or series of plates to be polished are set by hand upon a bed ofplaster, which is poured over the sur- 5 face of a polishing table orslate, as it is technically termed. This operation is a slow and adifficult one, requiring very careful manipulation, even with which theplates are frequently cracked in polishing by reason of failure toattain a perfectly plane supporting surface. It is also impracticable topolish plates of different thicknesses upon the same slate at oneoperation, because of the difficulty in setting them so that their outersurfaces shall be uniformly in the same horizontal plane.

My improvement obviates the delay, inaccuracy in setting, and damage bybreakage incident to the ordinary method of sealing 5o plate-glass byenabling the surfaces which are to be polished to be expeditiously andaccurately brought into coincidence with a truly plane surface withoutinvolving any of the manipulation heretofore required for bedding theplate-glass upon the slate.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is an end view in elevation, of aplate-glasssealing apparatus embodying my invention;. Fig. 2, a plan ortop View of the same; Fig. 3, a side view in elevation; Fig. 4, aview inele- 6o vation of the driving-gearing of the hoist; Fig. 5, an end viewof a portion of the slate and sealing table, showing a hinge-arm ofeach, and also the upper end of one of the adjusting piston rods; Fig.6, a horizontal section through one corner of the slate-frame and aconnected hinge-arm; Fig. 7, a side view, partly in section, of one ofthe lifting-pins and a vertical section through a connected hanger; andFig. 8, a transverse section through the same with the hanger inelevation.

In the practice of my invention I provide a sealing bed or table 1,which is preferably a rectangular metallic frame provided with a Woodenfacing which is made truly plane and smooth, and is of sufficient sizeto receive the largest plates of glass which are to be polished. Thesealing-table rests freely upon vertical standards or supports 2, whichare fixed to a suitable floor or foundation adja cent to a line ofrailroad-track 3, extending to or near a polishing-machine, upon whichtrack a car 4 traverses for the conveyance of a polishing-table andplate-glass sealed thereon to and from one or more polishing-machines.The car 4 is provided with a series of friction-rollers 5, which serveto support and facilitate the loading and unloading of a polishing tableor slate 6, which is of sub- 0 stan tially similar form and dimensionsto the sealing-table, and is preferably of similar constructionthat isto say, composed of a metallic frame and a plane-surfaced Wooden facing.A lifting-pin 7 is fixed to each end of the frame of the sealing-table 1near one of its sides, and a similar lifting-pin 8 is fixed to each endof the frame of the slate near one 4 of its sides, said pins beingprovided for the attachment of hangers connected to hoisting- 10ochains, as presently to be described. A 11in gearm 9, which is providedwith a vertical slot or passage 10 and a horizontal eye 11 near itsouter end, is connected detachably to each end of the frame of the slate6 on the side farthest from the lifting-pins 8. The connecting-bolts 12of the hinge-arms 9 pass through substantial angle-braces 13, riveted tothe side and end bars of the slate-frame at two of the angles thereofand passing through the end f rame-bar and hinge-arm are secured by keys14-, which are readily removable, as from time to time required. Twohinge-arms 15, each having a vertical slot or passage and a horizontaleye near its outer end similarly to the hingearms 9, are secured to theside of the sealing-table farthest from its lifting-pins 7, thelongitudinal distance between the hinge-arms 15 being less than thatbetween the arms 9.

The hinge-arms 9 and 15 above described are provided for the receptionof hinge-pivots 10 and 17, respectively, upon which pivots, which areadapted to rest in verticallyniovable sockets or bearings 38,hereinafter described, the sealing table and slate are each singly andboth when clamped together swung vertically by a suitable hoist fromhorizontal to vertical position, and vice versa,and from one horizontalposition to another in the sealing of the plate-glass and thepreparation of the slate with the plate-glass sealed thereon fortransfer to the polishing-machine. The hoist employed for this purposemay either be driven directly from the main or counter shaft of a primemover or may be provided with a suitable train of multiplying gearing,actuated either by hand or by power, and rotating two chain-drums, eachcarrying a lifting-chain 18, which passes around guide-sheaves 32,journaled in bearings at a proper distance above the top of thestandards 2, and carries on its end a ring or hanger 20, adapted to becoupled either to a lifting-pin 7 of the sealing-table or a lifting-pin8 of the slate, as the case may be. In thisinstance the first-motionshaft 21 of the hoist is provided with crank-wheels 22 on its ends forthe application of manual power, and carries a spur-pinion 23, whichmeshes with a corresponding gear 24: on a counter-shaft 25. Aspur-pinion 26 on the counter-shaft 25 meshes with a gear 27 on adrum-shaft 28, upon which are secured two chain-dru ms 29, which arelocated at such distance apart that the middle of each may be about inline vertically with the middle of the bearing portion of thelifting-pins at one end of the sealing-table and slate. A lifting-chain18 is connected to and wound on each of the chain-drun1s 29, and passestherefrom over a guide-sheave 3O fixed upon a shaft 31, which is adaptedto rotate and slide longitudinally in bearings supported above thedrum-shaft, and thence passes over a second guide-sheave 32, thebearings of which are fixed above the sealing-table at a distancetherefrom greater than its width and about in line vertically with theside of the sealing-table to which the hinge-arms are attached. The freeend of each chain carries a ring or hanger 20. A friction-brake 33 isprovided for arresting the movement of the firstmotion shaft and drivengearing when required.

The adjusting mechanism by which the ver tical positions of thehinge-pivots of the sealing-table and slate are regulated so as toproperly effect the swinging movements of the tables and prevent theedge cramping or straining of the plate-glass is preferably, as shown, aseries of fluid-pressu re cylinders, the pistons or plungers of whichare fixed to and support the bearings of the hingepivots. Two verticalcylinders 34: are fixed to a suitable foundation below and adjacent tothe standard 2 of the sealing-table which is nearest the side of thetable to which the hinge-arms are con nected, each cylinder beinglocatedin a vertical plane coinciding with the middle of the slot of one of thehinge-arms 15 of the sealingtable 1. Two similar cylinders 35 arelocated each in line with the central plane of the slot of one of thehinge-arms 9 of the slate 6. Each of the cylinders is provided with aproperly packed piston, to which is connected a pistonrod having ahinge-pivot bearing or socket 38 at its upper end, the bearings of thepistonrods 36 of the cylinders 3% receiving the hingepivots of thesealing-table l, and those of the piston-rods 37 of the cylinders 35receiving the hinge-pivots of the slate 6. The cylinders 3 L and areconnected by pipes 39 controlled by suitable cocks or valves with asource of fluid-pressure supply, which in this instance is aforcing-pump 40, so that pressure maybe simultaneously applied,regulated, and relieved in the two cylinders of each pair as from timeto time required. \Vater, steam, or air under pressure may be employedas the fluid-pressure medium, being brought to the proper degree ofworking-pressm'e by any of the well-known appliances for that purpose.

In the operation of the apparatus the seal ing-table l is placed uponthe standards 2, with its plane working-face upward and the hinge-pins17, inserted in the eyes of its hinge-arms 15. The pistons of thecylinders 34E are then raised by the application of fluid pressure untilthe ends of the hinge-pins rest in the bearings 38 of the piston-rods36. The end rings 20 of the chains 18 are then con nected to thelifting-pins 7 of the sealing-table, and the latter is swung about theaxes of the pivots 17 into vertical position by the application of powerto the hoist and the connected chains 18. The piston-rods 36 are alsolowered until the adjacent edge of the sealing-table is brought as nearto the floor, as may be desired. The sheet of plateglass which is to besealed is then applied to the plane working-face of the scaling-tablewhen standing 011 edge by the operators who hold it against the table,while the latter, with the glass thereon, is raised and swung back toits original horizontal position, the operators keeping the glass inposition until the IOC table is lowered sufficiently to prevent theglass from slipping off. The surface of the glass on the sealing-tableis then covered with a bed of plaster of proper thickness, the samebeing poured thereon from any suitable receptacle. For this purpose Iprefer to provide a swinging crane 42, having a trolley or carriage 43,fitted to traverse on its jib. A plaster-box 44 is suspended from thecarriage 43, the plaster-box being swung on pivots and provided with atipping-arm by which it may be turned or tipped to pour out the plaster,as required. By swinging the jib of the crane into different positionsthe plaster may be readily and conveniently applied to the entiresurface of the glass on the sealing-table. The slate 6 is then placed onthe car 4 with its working-face upward, and the car is moved along thetrack until the centers of the slots 10 of its hinge-arms 9 arebroughtin line with the axes of the cylinders 35. The hinge-pivots 16being then inserted in the eyes of the.

hinge-pins 9 the pistons of the cylinders 35 are raised until the endsof the pivots 16 rest in the bearings 38 of the piston-rods 37. Thechains 18 are then connected to the liftingpins 8 of the slate, and theslate is swung about the axes of its hinge-pivots until it is broughtinto horizontal position on the opposite side thereof and folded over onthe sealing-table, resting on the plaster facing or bed which was placedon the surface of the plate of glass on the sealing-table. In thetransfer of the slate from the car to the sealingtable the pistons ofthe cylinders 35 are raised sufficiently far to prevent a preliminarycontact of the slate with one edge of the plateglass, in order-toobviate any strain thereon, which would tend to crack it, and to admitof initial contact being made between the surface of the slate and thatof the bed of plaster as nearly as possible simultaneously throughoutthe entire area of said surfaces. The sealing-table and slate are thenconnected by a series of clamps 41, the hingepivots 16 are removed, thepiston-rods 36 raised until the ends of the hinge-pivots 17 rest intheir sockets, and the chains 18 are connected to the lifting-pins 7 ofthe sealing-table. The connected sealing-table and slate are then swungabout the axes of the pivots 17 by the hoist and deposited with theslate downward upon the car 4, after which the clamps 41 are'removed andthe sealing-table is coincidently relieved at one side from the slate bythe piston-rods 36 and raised at its opposite side by the hoist to avertical position in readiness for the sealing of a plate of glass uponanother slate, the

slate which has been used, as above described, with the plate of glassthat has been scaled upon its face, remaining upon the car 4 and beingtransferred thereon to the polishingmachine. Previous to the adjustmentof the slate upon the polishing-machine its hingearms are detached andare again connected to the slate when another plate of glass is to besealed. It will be understood that two or more slates are employed inorder that glass may be sealed upon one while the others are beingtransferred to and are fixed in position upon two or morepolishing-machines, a series of which is usually operated.

I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent- 1. In aplate-glass-sealing apparatus, the combination of a sealing bedor-table, a slate or polishing table, a hoist for swinging said tablesvertically into and out of positions for connection and detachment, andfluid-press ure-adjusting mechanism for maintaining the normal relationof the faces-of the tables in the application and separation of onetable to and from the other, substantially as set forth.

2. In a plate-glass-sealing apparatus, the combination of a sealing bedor table, a slate or polishing table, a hoist for swinging said tablesvertically into and out of positions for connection and detachment,fulcrums or bearings on which said tables are supported during theirmovements by the hoist, and fluidpressure mechanism connected to andacting to adjust said bearings vertically, substantially as set forth.

3. In a plate-glass-sealing apparatus, the combination of a sealing bedor table, aslate or polishing table, a hoist for swinging said tablesvertically into and out of positions for connection and detachment,hinge-pivots coupled to each of said tables, fluid-pressure cylindersprovided with pistons and connected rods, and bearings fixed to thepistonrods of said cylinders and fitted to receive the hinge-pivots ofthe table, substantially as set forth.

4. In a plate-glass-sealing apparatus, the combination of a sealing bedor table, a slate or polishing table, two pairs of hinge-arms, one pairbeing connected to each table, a fluid-pressure cylinder fixed in linewith each hinge-arm, piston-rods or plungers working in said cylinders,hinge-pivot bearings fixed to said piston-rods, hinge-pivots adapted tofit in the hinge-arms and bearings, a pair of lift-.

ing-pins connected to each of the tables adjacent to the side oppositethat to which the hinge-arms are connected, a pairof liftingchainsadapted to be coupled to the liftingpins of either of the tables, clampsfor connecting the tables, guid e-pulleys carrying the lifting-chains,chain-drums to which the lifting-chains are connected, and drivingmechanism for rotating the chain-drums, substantially as set forth.

5. In a plate-glass-sealing apparatus, the combination of a sealing bedor table, fixed supports therefor, a slate or polishing table, atransfer-car adapted to support both tables and to convey thepolishing-table to a different location, a hoist adapted to be connectedto either table to swing the polishingtable from the transfer-car to thesealing-table, and to swing both tables from the fixed supports to thetransfer-car, and fluid-pressure-adj usting mechanism formaintaining thenormal relation of the faces of the tables in the application andseparation of one table to and from the other, substantially as setforth.

6. In a plate-glass-sealing apparatus, the combination of a metallicpolishingtable frame, angle-braces connecting the side and end membersof said frame, a pair of hingearms having vertical slots and horizontaleyes at their outer ends, and bolts connecting said hinge-armsdetachably to the angle-braces and end members of the frame,substantially as set forth.

7. In a plate-glass-scaling apparatus, the combination of a metallictable-frame, a facing fixed thereon, hinge-arn1s connected to said frameand provided with vertical slots and horizontal eyes at their outerends, hingepivots fitting the eyes of the hinge-arms, andfluid-pressure-piston rods provided with socketed or recessed endsfitting the slots of the hinge-arms and receiving the hinge-pivots,

substantially as set forth.

my hand.

JAMES M. HOWARD. \Vitnesses:

J. SNoWDEN BELL, \V. B. CORWIN.

